Twenty technicians have emerged from the original 106 competitors at Rush Enterprise's Tech Skills Rodeo in San Antonio. The semi-finalists are in nine testing categories, senior editor Tom Berg reports.

For the eighth year in a row, Rush Truck Centers has brought in its top technicians for a grand competition in mechanical and electronic problem solving. Senior editor Tom Berg files this report from San Antonio.

Gabriel announced that Curt Huston has been appointed general manager. Huston brings over 25 years of experience in the automotive and aftermarket industry to his new role including positions at Continental Structural Plastics, Hayes-Lemmerz, Allied Signal (Honeywell) and Azure Dynamics.

The parent company to truck manufacturers, Kenworth and Peterbilt, Paccar, announced Monday its board of directors has elected Ronald E. Armstrong as chief executive officer and Mark C. Pigott as executive chairman of the Board of Directors, effective April 27.

Fuel prices in the future may not be as high as some earlier feared, according to updated projections for U.S. energy markets through 2040, but natural gas is expected to grow, just not as rapidly as earlier believed.

Wreaths Across America, along with nearly 30,000 volunteers, placed remembrance wreaths on the headstones of more than 143,000 veterans at Arlington National Cemetery on Dec. 14. This is the organization’s 22nd year laying wreaths at the Nation’s cemetery and marks the largest number ever delivered.

The American Trucking Associations and the Minnesota Trucking Association have jointly petitioned the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to conduct a pilot program to study the effect of increased flexibility in the use of sleeper berth breaks by truck drivers.

The EPA is announcing the availability of $4 million in grant funding to establish clean diesel projects aimed at reducing emissions from marine and inland water ports, many of which are in areas that face environmental justice challenges.

Driving for America, a Veterans-focused truck driving school, acquired CDI Truck Driving School located in Saginaw, Michigan on Nov. 19, 2013. The acquisition expands DFA's network to the Saginaw/Flint area and will reach more Michigan Veterans with the opportunity to prepare for their Commercial Driver's License.

Used commercial vehicle registrations during the first nine months of the 2013 calendar year were up just under 8% over the same period last year, according to Polk, the global automotive market intelligence firm recently acquired by IHS.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has lost a fight with truck engine makers over an earlier decision allowing Navistar International to sell earlier models of its engines with exhaust gas recirculation technology, even though they did not meet federal emissions rules.

Trucking journalist/communications specialist Patricia McCullough Smith, who served the trucking industry for nearly three decades, passed away Dec. 10 at the McMinnville, Ore., home she shared with her husband Doug.